Super Special Pre-Death Show (Featuring Aeris)
by yugiohmaniac
Summary: Mild Clerith. She's the glue of the team. He can't quite admit he needs her around. A series of shorts based before Aeris died. Show your appreciation for the more mischievous, martyr-free side of her persona. Part 5: In which Cloud does his best to alleviate an awkward situation.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, all! Yugiohmaniac here!

I've been looking for a good fic about Aeris for a while now that doesn't revolve around her death, because I think it's sad for such a dynamic character to be reduced to an innocent martyr (and I personally find fics like that boring to read).

So I decided to attempt a series of drabbles centred around Aeris myself! I think the idea of a drabble is that it's lighthearted? and while I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, I would love for you to offer responses and reviews.

One last thing: I don't mean to say that there are no good Aeris fics out there, I just haven't found one yet. Any suggestions on that front are welcome, too!

Without further ado...

The Super Special Pre-Death Show (Featuring Aeris)!

#1: Sunblock

'Where did you sail in from, honey?' A surfer who was wearing what Aeris could only nicely describe as next to nothing leant in and grinned at her. She lowered her eyes and took a sip of her cocktail before replying.

'Came over on a pleasure cruise.'

The man grinned and shifted closer. 'The one from this afternoon? That explains that pearly complexion of yours.' He reached over, ran a tanned finger down her bare arm. 'Not that I mind.'

Just then, several ice cubes dropped into her drink from above. The bartender leant forward, smiling down at Aeris in a kindly way. She wondered if her father, had she been able to remember him, would have looked at her that way. 'Here you go, honey. You look like you need some cooling down.'

'Thought I was cool enough already,' she said, smiling, but the bartender had turned his attention to the surfer beside her.

'Hey, Jimmy. It's a bit early to be trolling around here, isn't it? Especially for you.'

The surfer rolled his eyes. 'Please. It's never too early.'

The bartender slammed an empty glass between Jimmy and Aeris. Aeris jumped, but Jimmy stayed perfectly still, apparently unconcerned. He leant forward, cutting off Aeris' view of Jimmy. 'She's not a village girl. Why don't you go bother someone else?'

Aeris lifted her glass, draining it little by little. The usual bar noise had dropped away and she felt the skin on the back of her neck standing up under the weight of everyone's stares. Jimmy stood up, stuck his hands on his hips and stared hard at Aeris.

'I can be real persuasive,' he whispered.

Aeris laid her glass on the bar, her mind irritatingly blank. Where was a scathing put down when you needed one?

'Aeris!'

She span around, the vice around her chest loosening when she saw the outline of Cloud in the doorway. Even from here, his military bearing was obvious. The two of them alone probably had more materia than the entire tourist resort populace. Jimmy leant back into the bar, collapsed down onto his chair.

Cloud walked forward, not looking at the surfer. The sound of the heavy sword strapped to his back said more than any words ever could.

'Don't you have the sunblock? We wanted to use it as a precaution.'

She smiled. If they needed sunblock, that meant they were sticking the day out here. She could play on the beach with Cloud; do all the things slum kids dreamed about when they heard adults talking about Costa del Sol holidays...

She turned to Jimmy.

'Sorry, Jimmy. Looks like I got a better offer. And you can't put a price on that.' She turned quickly, slamming down what she owed for the drink- plus a big tip for the bartender- before walking over to Cloud, slipping her arm into his as they walked out into the sun.

She found herself smiling. The day was going to be great. The bartender was right, though, it was way too hot for her current outfit. She should change, see if she couldn't get Cloud's attention-

'Aeris?'

'Hmm?'

He looked amused to see her broad smile. 'You all right?'

'Oh, fine. The bartender was looking after me. He has a daughter, you know, and he hates the way they carry on in these resort towns...'

'He told you all that?'

'I-' Aeris paused. 'I don't know. I guess he must have.'

They had come to the steps leading to the beach, where the others were gathered, all trying to hide how pleased they were at having a day to play on the beach. At Yuffie's impatient glance, Aeris disengaged herself from Cloud's arm and pulled out the cheap sunblock she'd bought.

She squirted some out onto her hand, quickly covered her arms and face and was amused to discover that the sunblock left behind a distinctly glittery sheen. She giggled, looked up.

'Hey, Cloud. Look how-'

She stopped, followed Cloud's transfixed gaze straight to Tifa. The other girl had gotten changed into a figure hugging bikini that put her curves on full display. And worse, she had untied her hair, letting it fall around her with such casual confidence that even men from the beach below were staring up at her. Well, they always did. They always chased her type, let her run rings around them without realising it was they, not she, who was caught. Tifa gave Cloud a striking smile, non-committal but confident. He was so transfixed that he didn't realise the others were watching him watch Tifa in bemused silence.

Aeris squirted another blob of glittery sunblock into her hands before snapping the lid shut. Then she reached up and planted the blob straight on the end of Cloud's nose.

Hope you enjoyed! By the way, the part about the glittery sunblock is actually real. I wondered if you'd be able to reflect sunlight if you put enough on... :) I'll post again when inspiration strikes. Have a sunny day!


	2. Chapter 2: Warning and Rescue

The Super Special Pre-Death Show (Featuring Aeris)!

Part 2. Cloud and co. aren't in this one much, but I hope you enjoy. ~Yugiohmaniac

#2: Rescue and Warning

Aeris sank down onto the floor of the containment tube. She was hungry and tired from standing so long. They'd have to feed her soon. They'd just have to.

Hojo seemed to have relented for the moment, taking a break from the incessant scans to furiously process data. Every now and then, he would look up at her, check she wasn't trying to escape (as she had earlier) or kill herself (she hoped she wasn't quite there yet), but it seemed to Aeris that he looked a fraction longer than he needed.

_He's looking for my mother, _she thought. _He thinks I'm an inferior specimen in more ways than one. _

As Hojo continued to bang away at the keyboard, Aeris turned away.

Was Cloud coming to get her? Would he be caught? No; he was a former SOLDIER, he couldn't be...

Would he bring that girl along to help?

She ran her nails across the glass. If Sephiroth was an Ancient, like her, what did it matter?

She sank to her knees, wrapping her arms around them. If Sephiroth was an Ancient, how could she ever hope to be close to someone again?

'Mother,' she whispered. 'Please, help me. Talk to me.'

When the room flashed red, Aeris didn't look up, assuming it would be another intrusive scan. Then Hojo swore and alarm bells began to sound.

'Cloud!' Aeris cried, turning, before slapping her hand over her mouth. It didn't matter. No-one was paying her the slightest bit of attention.

Hojo had frozen at the control desk. He looked down at Aeris from the remote glass room, then his gaze flickered towards the elevator and his expression closed like a book. He slammed his hand on a switch, and the doors surrounding his lofty room flickered to an angry red as they locked down.

Aeris looked toward the elevator, and saw why.

Sephiroth stood there.

She had never seen him before, but who else could he be? From Cloud's story she recognised the composure, the... remote look in his eyes and his outer appearance was just as she had read in the papers as a girl. From Hojo, she recognised the box in his hand, dripping with green liquid, must be full of JENOVA cells.

For a moment, they simply watched one another. Sephiroth looked towards the upper room, smirked as Hojo stepped up to the glass. The scientist's eyes were bright, almost curious. He watched, passively, as Sephiroth approached Aeris.

Aeris heard Cetran words echoing in- she found herself kneeling, hands raised in silent prayer. Taking him on directly was suicide. Ancients had another way to fight.

'Your name?' The words carried such assured gravitas that they didn't sink in for a moment.

'Aeris.'

Sephiroth nodded, appraising her with what looked suspiciously like respect. Then he raised his katana.

Aeris barely had time to scream and guard her head with her arms before Sephiroth swung at the glass. She saw sparks flying from the glass and wondered with the detached feeling of someone way out of her depth if the barrier between her and Sephiroth would be gone when she next looked up.

_It's too late to back off now, _she thought. _It's been like that for a while. _

She looked up.

The glass was still there.

But carved into it were dozens and dozens of characters, all in clean, cursive Cetran script.

_You and I are the last true owners of the world. We will lead it past the Promised Land, to greater soil. _

Scanning the letters, she realised something: No Ancient would talk about 'owning' the world. They were the world.

So Sephiroth was not an Ancient.

She was not like Sephiroth.

He turned on heel, heading past Hojo's observation platform towards the corridor Aeris suspected was used by the senior staff.

She nerved herself, called out, 'What are you going to do?'

For a moment she thought he wouldn't answer her. Then, without turning around, he said, 'I have one last loose end to tie up.' Hojo watched, rapt, as Sephiroth strode out of the room, leaving a line of green cells dripping behind him.

Aeris silently let out her breath. She pulled herself to her feet, found her legs shaking, unwilling to hold her. Her eyes rose to meet Hojo's. He was leaning against the control desk, one hand pressed flat against his temples. They stared at one another, doing nothing, for what felt like a long time.

She pressed her hands to her chest. 'I'm not like Sephiroth.' The words warmed her. 'I'm not like Sephiroth...'

She'd all but buried her hunger when Cloud came to get her. Instead, she took his hand when he blew open the tank, and she kept hold of his wrist for as long as possible while they ran. As soon as they got out, she wanted to rest, and to eat. Together, with the others.

Okay, I know I said they were going to be 'light-hearted' but I'm new at this... Read&review please! Have a nice day and something in the company of someone you love :) See you again!


	3. Chapter 3: Prayer

The Super Special Pre-Death Show (Featuring Aeris)!

#3: The Cetran Sense

They all reconvened outside of ShinRa manor, eyes generally fixed on their shoes. Save Cloud and Tifa, the rest of them had never seen Sephiroth before. Now they all had. Well, everyone except one.

Aeris glanced at their new addition. She couldn't help but think that his distant attitude wasn't doing anything to improve relations between the group. Barrett didn't seem capable of going five minutes without shooting a glance at him to check he wasn't going to turn on them, and Nanaki had been keeping close to Aeris ever since, his ears constantly pricked up and turning this way, guarding her.

Vincent hadn't noticed. His gaze fixed in the distance, totally oblivious to the rest of the group scrutinising the map.

'I doubt the mountain will be any different, Cloud,' Tifa was saying. 'If they've gone to all this effort to make the town look so normal, why would they hide something up there? People go hiking there- or at least they used to...'

'Even so, I want to avoid public routes. If they still have a reactor up there, they'll be on guard.' Cloud looked up. 'We're sticking together for this one. It's going to be too dangerous otherwise.'

'Let's move, then! All this standing around is boring!' Yuffie cried, bouncing from foot to foot.

'...you jes' creeped out by this whole thing,' Barrett said, his old prickliness returning. 'You were complanin' bout havin' to walk so far earlier.'

Yuffie reddened. 'It's not my fault everything got so..._weird_.' At that moment, Vincent stepped forward and Yuffie jumped back, avoiding bumping into his metallic arm. Vincent looked up at the mountain; and said nothing, even as the others exclaimed awkward glances.

_Why is she acting like he's completely repulsive? _Aeris thought, her anger surprising her. _She was like that around Cloud because of his 'SOLDIER' eyes, and now she's so used to him she acts like she has a crush on him sometimes. _Yuffie caught her eye, grinning sheepishly, and Aeris tried to smile reassuringly back. _Hasn't she learnt anything at all? _

Aeris stepped forward, coming to stand by Vincent's side. 'If the path gets narrow, we might need you to back us up. Most of us are close range fighters.'

He looked down at her, unmoved. 'But you can use materia flawlessly.'

She blinked. Had she told him that? 'Well, sure. But Cloud said there might be caves. I wouldn't want to cause a collapse by accident.'

'You won't.' The tone was flat, not an attempt at reassurance. She glanced at him, trying to make out if this was genuine faith in her or an attempt to dismiss her. His red eyes swivelled down to meet her gaze. They were pretty much all she could see in the gap between his cape, headband and hair. She had the strange feeling- through what she had dubbed her 'Cetran sense'- that it was more the former reason than the latter.

'That wasn't right subtle, you know,' Barret said, nudging her as he helped her navigate a narrower part of the path.

'What wasn't?'

'Goin' up and talkin' to the wildcard, jes to prove a point.'

She grinned. 'I've no idea what you mean.'

He looked over his shoulder, checked the others weren't in hearing range. ''S bad enough Tifa chasin' after these ShinRa shmoes. I don't need you puttin' yourself in harm's way, too.'

'Can't you trust him?'

Barrett's shoulders were slowly tensing. He stuck his hands deeper into the pockets of his threadbare vest. 'How do we know he ain't just like Sephiroth? He's ShinRa, after all.'

'Was ShinRa,' she corrected. She hopped over a crack in the ledge, grabbed onto his shoulder for balance. 'And he's not like Sephiroth. I know it.'

'Know it?'

'My Cetran sense told me so.'

He raised an eyebrow. 'Ri-ight.'

She mock-glared at him. 'I _know _it. It's like...looking in Sephiroth's eyes, all I saw was a void. He's like a sun- no compassion, just higher plans. No feeling for the Planet. For its people. But Vincent's not like that. He's more like a frozen lake. After winter, the ice can be thick for a long time, can't it? But it doesn't mean the water isn't still under it.'

'...You getting your metaphor mixed up.' His face was still crumpled in a grumpy frown, even as he reached over and ruffled Aeris' hair.

When they finally came to the other end of the cave system, they decided to camp for the night before making for the next town. They'd managed to find a wooded area with a long stream running through it, affording them the luxury of being able to wash their hands and faces on the move.

But they couldn't get washed properly, not in front of one another. So no-one questioned it when various members of the group wandered off up and down the stream.

Aeris wandered off too, aimlessly leaving and returning to the stream. Then she stopped. It was as though someone had drawn a line through the world, telling her not to go that way. She turned, following the invisible line down the stream. Then she stopped.

Vincent.

She darted behind a tree but he was just standing, staring into the distance, his human arm holding the metal one, running his fingers up and down it as though searching.

He reached the rim, slipped his fingers under it. There was a distinctive _clicking _noise, like a latch was coming loose.

She turned away. She knew- just from watching him, not from her 'sense'- that this was probably the first time Vincent himself had opened the case around his arm. She couldn't violate such a private moment.

On instinct, she drew her white materia into her hands, and began to pray. She could never fully understand her own prayers. They flowed with feelings more than understanding. Her mother, had she lived, could have taught her the Cetran language more fully.

But for days like this, what Aeris could do was enough.

When she heard the latch click shut again, she slipped away, back towards the rough camp Cloud had set up in their absence. She looked around, hopeful for some food. Being an Ancient was, so much of the time, incredibly tiring work.

'There's plenty of broth,' Tifa said, still glowing from having bathed downstream. 'But you and Vincent will have to split the last bread roll- Yuffie ate two before we could stop her...'

'We'll share.' Aeris picked out the bread, smiling at the newly returned gunman. 'Okay?'

Without a word, he lifted the bread from her and split it in half, pressing one side into her hand before she had time to pick. She was about to take a bite when she realised her half was substantially bigger than his.

She looked up, wanting to thank him, when she saw the first hints of readable expression in his eyes.

It looked like gratitude.

So she wasn't the only one with a sixth sense...

Aeris sat down by Cloud, took a big bite of the bread with smiling lips.

Okay, all that's it for p.3! I know it's not lighthearted again, but I just love writing about Aeris. The only problem is, I have to limit the settings to disk 1... See you next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Thunder

Hi again! I solemnly swear that this installment will be more lighthearted and upbeat than some of the others! As always, please read and review.

The Super Special Pre-Death Show (Featuring Aeris)!

#4: Thunder

'Gosh, I'm so glad we're not staying in a tent today.' Aeris tugged a comb through her hair, trying to coax it out of the waves she always got from tying it back all day, as she watched the rain lash down from inside the window of the Cosmo Canyon inn. 'D'ya think Red- I mean, Nanaki- wants to stay more than he'll admit?'

'I'm sure he does,' Tifa replied, watching her from an alcove covered with furs. She looked down, fidgeted with an orb of materia in her lap. 'You know, Aeris, I-'

A huge crack of thunder interrupted her. It felt as though the earth was complaining, rumbling on and on until someone noticed. Under the sound, so small she almost didn't notice, was a whimper. She looked at Tifa.

'Did you hear that?'

'What?'

She held up her hand, asking Tifa to be quiet. There it was again: a tiny, stifled cry. Tifa nodded towards the communal bathroom. They both stood, inching toward it. Aeris rapped with the back of her knuckles.

The sound stopped immediately.

'Yuffie?' Aeris called. 'Are you in there?'

'I'm-' Her words stopped at the next crack of thunder. 'I'm fine, okay, so leave me alone! I've got a long beauty routine that'll take awhile, and-' As Yuffie's diatribe went on, getting quieter whenever thunder struck, Aeris and Tifa exchanged a glance, rolling their eyes.

'We're coming in, okay, Yuffie?' Tifa said. Yuffie didn't even have time to protest before the door swung open. She hastily wiped her hand across her face and splashed her face so hard with water from the sink that the ends of her hair were dripping when she next looked up. 'Um...are you all right?'

'Just peachy!' She stood staring at them, water dripping off her nose, when the next thunder rumble was heard. There was no whimper this time. Yuffie gripped the sink and said nothing. '...Though I like having some privacy in the bathroom.'

'Yuffie, you're shaking.'

'It's cold.' She splashed her face again, hard, as lightning flashed against the window. 'I'm not scared.'

'Yuffie-' Tifa began.

'We never said you were,' Aeris interrupted. At that moment, Tifa tensed up a little, but she kept quiet. 'Let's sing, okay?'

'I'll get water in my throat-'

'_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine-'_

'Not sure that's appropriate...' Tifa muttered. Yuffie visibly flinched as the storm rumbled louder overhead. Aeris took her arm, swung it as she sang.

_'You make me happy when skies are grey...' _

Yuffie stopped fidgeting as she listened.

_'You'll never know, dear, how much I love you,' _Aeris sang. Yuffie took a breath.

_'So please don't take my sunshine away,' _she finished. The girls said nothing for a moment, even as the storm rumbled on. 'I really wasn't scared.'

'We know,' they all said in unison. Except there was one new voice. Aeris span around, embarrassed, to see Cloud standing in the doorway. Yuffie flushed red.

'I'm tired!' she cried. 'I'm going to bed!' And she raced into the girls' room, slamming it shut behind her. The remaining three were silent for a moment longer. The tap dripped. Thunder rumbled in the distance, like the Planet was complaining about a constant ache.

'...I'm tired, too. I think I'll turn in,' Tifa said, and sloped out of the room.

'She all right?' Cloud whispered to Aeris. She shrugged.

Neither of them knew Tifa had spotted Cloud watching Aeris sing from the doorway, and saw the gentle expression on his face as he watched. She saw Aeris in his eyes: perfectly feminine, always knowing exactly what to say, to do, even as she teased them all.

But as Tifa curled up to sleep that night, she knew it was more than night: it was like she was looking on a real _family- _Aeris, with her inbuilt maternal instincts, Cloud, the reluctantly amused father and poor unsuspecting Yuffie cast in the role of the petulant child.

Had Tifa been anyone else, she would have laughed.

But she just curled up to sleep, trying not to hear Aeris' occasional comforting words to Yuffie when the storm worsened.

Trippy fact: I actually wrote this during a thunder storm, with torrential rain pouring outside my window. Hooray for temperamental summer weather!

If you have a rainy day, I hope you find a way to enjoy it! Until next time.

~Yugiohmaniac


	5. Chapter 5: Flowers

Howdy, all! It's been a while, maybe? (And by the way, when Vincent says 'It's been a while' to people in DoC, it's actually a Japanese custom. I learnt that from the mighty Fruits Basket).

I had this idea boiling round my head for a while, partly because I preferred the ambiguities of Hojo's character in the original (I find it hard that when forced into so many extreme situations he'd truly care for no-one, as implied in DoC) and vaguely remember him expressing regret over Ifalna's death. I might explore it again, I might not.

I'll do my best to up the Clerith content in future chapters.

#5: Flowers

Aeris had seen few miracles in the course of her short life. The first, that she had been able to gain a second caring mother and happy home after having already been blessed with one. The second, that not one but two SOLDIERs had fallen through the roof of her church. The third, that somewhere existed with _less _flowers than Midgar.

The place being Corel village.

'Are we really staying overnight here?' she whispered to Tifa. The other girl glanced at her, raised her eyebrows.

'Yeah, I guess. Cloud says that the manager of the gondola won't take more rides until tomorrow.' She glanced at Barrett, brooding at the head of the group, and lowered her voice. 'I know it's not pretty but we've no other choice. Not for today at least.'

'It's not that.' She shook her head, looked from ruin to dissolution and back again. 'There's no...air here. It's almost like-'

'Beyond Midgar,' she finished. 'Worse than Midgar.' She looked down, caught sight of Red pacing back and forth, winding in and out of the legs of the group. 'It's kind of...sapping, isn't it?'

Barrett spun around, face contorted in anger. 'Yeah, I know, it's a real eyesore, a real scar on the face o' the Planet! Jes' shut up about it, okay?'

'Barrett, I...' Aeris wrung her hands. It was as though this part of the Planet was contorted in a never ending scream. 'I'm just...' The anger in his eyes had turned into something worse: disappointment.

Cloud glanced back at the group, squeezed her arm. His cold blue eyes looked warmer than usual, but with concern. She'd seen it more and more lately. 'Let's just set up camp.'

Aeris struggled to sleep that night. The air was so close, so hot. She tossed and turned, hearing Barrett do the same thing. Red swished his tail from side to side so many times that eventually Tifa offered to try and fetch him some warm milk.

Finally Aeris sat up and slipped outside of the tent. She just couldn't breathe in that town, not when the wound to the Planet was so blatant in the outpourings of suffering. So she'd have to walk for a while, just to find somewhere with a bit more greenery, and come back in the morning.

...And if Barrett didn't like it, well, she'd have to find some way to explain...

'Aeris.'

She turned; saw Cloud running to catch up with her. She looked down, tried to hide the sudden smile on her face. 'I was just...'

'I know. I feel it too.' He looked up, a sheepish grin on his face. 'Probably not as much as you, though.' He cleared his throat, reached out to gentle touch her arm (for the second time that day!) before saying, 'Don't worry about Barrett, okay? This place just seems to cut close to the bone for him, and he's a grouser by nature.' He reached into his pocket, offered her something small and wrapped in tissue.

She blinked, turning it over several times in her hands before unwrapping it, layer by layer.

It was a flower- a red tulip to be exact, pressed flat and perfectly preserved in a clear frame with a paper border around the edge. It looked very much like the ones she used to sell, way back in Midgar...

She looked up and her question must have been written all over her face, because she could have sworn that he was blushing.

'I bought one from you, remember? But I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I had it pressed. I thought you might need it, when we got outside of Midgar... Was I right?' He pulled what Aeris called his 'cocky pose'. 'Don't go too far, okay?'

'I...think I'll be all right.' She pressed the plant to her heart. A piece of the Planet. It was dead, sealed in wax, but she could still feel the vice loosening around her heart. 'Let's go back.'

She took his arm, whistling softly under her breath as they headed back to the tent, her flower held against her skin.

Yet another miracle: Cloud had been able to make her like flowers more than she already did.

By the way, red tulips were symbolic of eternal love in Victorian England. And I know that in the game Cloud was meant to give the flower to Tifa or Marlene (I gave it to Marlene ;) ) but I ignored the game for once. Have a flower-filled day!


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